>> WE WENT IN FOR MY 20-WEEK ANATOMY SCAN
AND THE ULTRASOUND TECH PUT THE WAND ON TO MY STOMACH
AND SHE GOES, "WHAT DO YOU THINK THOSE TWO CIRCLES ARE?"
AND IT WAS THE GIRLS' HEADS.
AND SHE MOVED ON TO SAY, "YOU'RE HAVING TWINS
AND I THINK THEY'RE CONJOINED."
>> CONJOINED TWINS ARE VERY RARE.
THEY ARE PREDICTED TO OCCUR 1 IN 50,000 BIRTHS.
THE MAJORITY OF THOSE BIRTHS, HOWEVER, ARE STILLBORN.
AND THE MAJORITY CANNOT BE SAFELY SEPARATED.
SINCE THE FIRST PAIR OF CONJOINED TWINS WERE
SEPARATED AT CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL IN 1957,
WE'VE SEPARATED OVER 20 CASES.
THE TUCKER TWINS ARE ACTUALLY THORACO-OMPHALOPAGUS.
AND SO THEY ARE JOINED A LITTLE BIT AT THE CHEST
AND A LITTLE BIT IN THE ABDOMEN.
THEIR CHEST WALLS ARE JOINED.
THEIR STERNUM IS A SINGLE STERNUM.
THEIR DIAPHRAGMS ARE JOINED.
PERICARDIUM IS MOST LIKELY JOINED.
THEIR HEARTS ARE COMPLETELY SEPARATE SO IT'S VERY,
VERY FAVORABLE FOR THE GIRLS.
>> WE DECIDED TO COME HERE AFTER WE HAD MET
WITH A LOCAL SPECIALIST AND OUR DOCTOR,
OUR OB, TOLD US THAT WE SHOULD DEFINITELY COME
TO PHILADELPHIA.
>> WE FIRST MET THE TUCKER FAMILY BEFORE
THE GIRLS WERE BORN.
OUR MEETING STARTED WITH A TWO-DAY EVALUATION WHERE
THEY WENT THROUGH A BATTERY OF TESTS THAT INCLUDED
AN ULTRASOUND, AN ECHOCARDIOGRAM,
A FETAL MRI.
AND THESE TESTS WERE SORT OF SOUPED-UP TESTS
OF OUR REGULAR TESTS BECAUSE THE COMPLEXITY IS EXPONENTIAL
WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT TWO JOINED.
AFTER A HUGE TEAM MEETING, WE SAT DOWN WITH THEM
AND REALLY EXPLAINED IT FROM SOUP TO NUTS WHAT WE THOUGHT
WE SAW, WHAT WE PREDICTED MAY OCCUR,
AND THAT WE ACTUALLY DID INDEED FEEL THAT THEY
WERE SEPARABLE.
>> WE DECIDED THIS IS WHAT OUR NEXT YEAR IS GOING TO BE LIKE.
WE'RE GOING TO GO THERE.
WE MOVED INTO THE RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE AND INSTANTLY
BECAME FAMILY WITH THE STAFF THERE.
AND WE BECAME FAMILY WITH THE STAFF HERE AT CHOP.
WE HAVE OUR 2 1/2-YEAR-OLD SON,
OWEN, HERE AND THE CHILD LIFE HAS BEEN AWESOME
WITH HIM, KEEPING HIM INVOLVED IN ACTIVITIES.
I MEAN, THE KID DOESN'T WANT TO SIT STILL.
HE'S A 2-YEAR-OLD WHO WANTS TO RUN.
TO BE SEEN HERE AND KNOW THAT I WAS GOING TO BE
DELIVERED HERE, IT WAS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT.
>> THE SPECIAL DELIVERY UNIT ALLOWED THE PARENTS
AND THE BABIES TO BE CLOSE BY SHORTLY AFTER THE DELIVERY.
SO WE COULD HAVE A PLANNED DELIVERY WITH A PLANNED
RESUSCITATION.
AND THE TEAM THAT WAS INVOLVED THE DAY THAT THEY
WERE BORN, THE TEAM THAT WAS INVOLVED WITH THE RESUSCITATION
BECOMES THE CORE GROUP OF NURSE PRACTITIONERS
AND NEONATOLOGISTS THAT ARE GOING TO BE INVOLVED
WITH THE RECOVERY PROCESS ONCE THEY'RE SEPARATED.
SO ALLISON HAS A TEAM AND EMILY HAS A TEAM.
WE GOT STARTED AROUND 6 IN THE MORNING.
THE GIRLS WERE BROUGHT UPSTAIRS FROM THE NICU.
DR. BAILEY AND HIS TEAM MET THEM.
THERE WAS A TEAM OF SIX ANESTHESIOLOGISTS AND TOOK
THEM INTO THE OPERATING ROOM AND GOT TO WORK.
THE TEAM INCLUDES GENERAL SURGERY, ANESTHESIA,
PLASTIC SURGERY, CARDIAC SURGERY, RADIOLOGY,
OR NURSES, BEDSIDE NURSES, NURSE PRACTITIONERS,
PSYCHOLOGY, SOCIAL WORK, MANY, MANY OTHERS.
THAT MOMENT WHERE ONE BECOMES TWO IS VERY,
VERY DRAMATIC.
>> SEEING THEM TOGETHER IS JUST THE WAY THEY ARE.
IT'S GOING TO BE DIFFICULT AND EXCITING AT THE SAME
TIME TO SEE THEM AS TWO BABIES.
>> WE ACTUALLY HAVE A SECOND SET UP IN THE SAME ROOM
AND EMILY WILL BE TAKEN OVER TO ANOTHER BED THAT'S WAITING
AND THEN WE'LL CONTINUE TO WORK.
[KNOCK ON DOOR]
>> HEY.
>> HI.
>> SO THEY DID REALLY WELL.
THE GIRLS BOTH WERE AWESOME THROUGH THE WHOLE THING.
>> I THINK A DAY LIKE TODAY MAKES YOU REALIZE WHAT
AN INCREDIBLE TEAM WE HAVE.
AND IT TAKES SUCH A BIG TEAM AND IT TAKES EVERYBODY
BEING ON.
IT TAKES EVERYTHING BEING LINED UP.
IT TAKES EVERYBODY BEING ON THEIR BEST GAME.
>> NOW IT'S JUST THE RECOVERY AND IT'S THE LIGHT
AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL.
>> THE FIRST DAY THAT THEY BREATHE ON THEIR OWN IS HUGE.
THE FIRST DAY THAT MOM CAN HOLD THEM OR DAD CAN HOLD
THEM IS HUGE.
THE FIRST DAY THAT THEY GET FEEDS AGAIN IS HUGE.
AND THEN WE START THE PLANNING FOR HOW DO WE
TRANSITION FROM AN INTENSIVE CARE SETTING TO A MORE
NORMAL SETTING AND THEN EVENTUALLY TO HOME.